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Jake looks on with wonder as Paul fumbles around with his fork. Poor fellow. Must be starving, he’s been out for the last few days.
Paul grunts in frustration as he continues to struggle, but no one is brave enough to try and offer to help feed him.
The large man has been awake for just about an hour or so. After answering the call of nature, his next words were, “Food. Now. No need for it to be cooked.” Jake laughed and helped him inside the restaurant.
John said the prisoner transfer and the hand-off of the treaty was smooth and easy.
Jake thought his blood-brother wasn’t telling him something, but decided to let it pass until he could be confronted directly later.
When Jake went upstairs to check on Paul, earlier, he heard Brigit and Sean’s voices coming from the young Irishman’s bedroom, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. He’s glad they’re talking to each other. Now, at least.
He turns and looks at Andy. She is happily eating away at her lunch. When Paul made it to the table, the sweet little girl asked if he was alright and when he said yes, she started crying. Her tears are now dry and she is able to enjoy her meal.
Thankfully, today’s lunch is sandwiches. This is one of those days he hates the idea of cooking. Jake looks down at the piece of ham sitting between the hunks of bread and is struck with the feeling of being glad Laura did the baking for the week last Sunday, as the bread they have left is mostly fresh.
As Jake considers the food, there’s a sound that begins intruding on his consciousness. He looks around the table to see if anyone else happens to be noticing it. Both John and Joey appear to be paying closer attention than the others.
After a few moments everyone else perk up and the racket of the chairs moving out from the table is almost deafening.
Jake, John and Joey are the first out the door, guns drawn and hammers pulled back, then followed by David, Rebekah and Brigit. Andy hides in the kitchen without being instructed to.
The group is met just outside the door by a group of fifteen riders led by Lyttle. As the riders approach the hotel, Jake notices a couple of bodies draped over a horse.
From the looks on the riders’ faces, Jake guesses the mission wasn’t a complete success.
As the group comes to a halt just in front of the hotel, Lyttle dismounts and approaches.
The lawmen release the hammers on their guns and then holster them.
John steps forward. “Hello, Sheriff! Looks like your ride wasn’t a complete failure! C’mon in and we can figure out what to do.”
Lyttle motions to one of his men, points to the horse with the bodies and then in the direction towards his and Doc Lopez’s offices.
The rest of the men dismount without a word. Lyttle shakes his head at them and says, “You men go on home. I’ll get your money for you later today.” He puts his reins on the hitching post and follows everyone from the hotel back in.
Jake goes to the kitchen and tells Andy everything is safe for her to come out now. He grabs a pitcher of water, a glass and throws together a plate for the sheriff.
As he heads out to the restaurant with his daughter, carrying the plate of food and drinks, he sees that there appears to be a long table in the center of the room.
Most of the group of people are there, with the exception of Brigit and Sean. Jake hands the plate of food and cup with pitcher over to Lyttle, before seating himself across the table.
Lyttle nods his head and says, “Thanks. I haven’t had hardly any food for the last few days.” He sets the plate down, bows his head a moment, looks up and tears into the sandwich.
Jake seats himself across the table from the sheriff and turns to John. “Did I miss anything?”
John shakes his head. “In fact, I was about to ask the sheriff what happened, myself.”
Lyttle finishes his bite, swallows and says, “Food first.”
Jake laughs. “Well, at least he has his priorities straight.”
John sighs disconsolately, leans back in his chair, crosses his arms and levels a look at the sheriff. “Then, we’ll wait.”
Lyttle looks around at the people sitting at the table, watching him with expectant faces and sighs. He takes one more big bite, swallows it and says, “Alright! Fine! I get the point.” He shakes his head.
John readjusts his position and smirks. “Figured you would see it my way. So, what happened?”
Lyttle drains his glass of water twice and sighs in contentment. He adjusts his position in his seat and clears his throat.
Jake stands up and helps Brigit get Sean into a chair.
Once everyone is seated and everyone has been able to get their drinks filled, Lyttle looks around once again, then sighs. “Alright. So you all know what happened leading up to my forming the posse and heading out on the Arapaho road, right?”
Everyone nods. Andy walks up to her father and holds her hands out, in a silent request to be held. He smiles down at her, picks her up and places her in his lap.
Lyttle looks at the young girl and frowns. “Anyway. So, after we left, the trail went almost due west. They were about two hours or so ahead of us, but weren’t trying to hide their tracks. The first afternoon and evening went quietly. We stopped tracking at full dark, about five miles inside the Arapaho lands. The following morning found us wandering around a bit as we had to find the trail again, but were underway quickly enough. We tracked them the rest of the day, but about halfway through the Arapaho lands, they turned northwest. I was surprised, because it looked like they were headed towards Fort Reno. Well, we made it just south of the fort’s lands and ended up seeing signs that we were being tracked by the Arapaho.”
He refills his cup and drains it. “So, it was close to the northern edge of the Arapaho lands that we found the bodies. From the looks of it, it appears that they just bled out finally. I want to have someone identify the bodies, though.” He looks around the table and receives several nods. He nods in affirmation. “So, last night, just before we thought to make camp, one of my men found a cow skull with two arrows jammed into it.”
Jake whistles low and looks at John. His blood-brother’s eyes are wide at the implications of the warning. “So, I take it you and your men rode all night to get away from the Comanche then, huh?”
Lyttle nods. “It was pretty late last night that we saw the Comanche War Party less than three miles behind us. We didn’t stop ‘til we got back to the unassigned lands. That was about two and a half hours ago.”
Sean growls. “Why didnae ya keep goin’? T’hat monster needs to be hunted like tha animal t’hat he is.”
“Sorry, son. With that war party tracking us, we had to get back into our lands as quickly as was possible. We wouldn’t have been able to survive a battle with’em if we’d stood our ground and fought.”
John gives Sean a quelling look, then turns to Lyttle. “So, where were you when you turned back?”
“About twenty miles south of the lands claimed by Fort Reno. If we made it to their lands, we would have been captured by the Army for trespassing on the Indian lands.” He looks at Sean with a sympathetic expression. “I’m sorry, son. There’s nothing else we could do.” He turns back to John. “If I had to hazard a guess, I would say they’re headed toward Kingfisher.” He shakes his head. “I don’t know why they would do that, though.”
John looks at Joey a moment, then nods, as if answering his own question. “So, we’re going to have the funerals tomorrow, then hit the trail ourselves, right boss?”
Lyttle’s mouth drops as Joey nods.
John nods again, then turns to Lyttle. “So, a quick breakdown of our news. I turned over being Marshal of Denver to Red-Feather, so I could join the U.S. Marshals. We’ve turned over the last prisoner for the attack on Marshal Brouwer, as well as the treaty with the Shawnee.” He strokes his jaw a moment and looks at the ceiling, expression contemplative. “Other than the usual personal stuff, that’s just about it.”
“Why’d you give up the badge to Denver?” Lyttle demands.
“Money. You said I’d not be able to afford a deputy and Red-Feather’s family depends on that money. Plus, I told you I wasn’t planning on putting down roots in Denver anyway. It was time to move on.”
Lyttle shakes his head and looks at David. “Did he at least take a vote of the town, to make sure they agreed to Red-Feather’s appointment?”
David nods. “Oh, yes. Quite adamant about it too. Town agreed. Red-Feather is Town Marshal.”
Lyttle sighs and crosses his arms. “I hope you know what you’re doing, John. Or should I say, Deputy?”
John’s grin is impudent. “Of course, I know what I’m doing. The question is, do you?”
Lyttle shakes his head. “I’ve stopped trying to guess people. Helps me live longer.”
Sean stares hard at Lyttle a moment, then John, then Joey, then back at John. “I cannae b’lieve yer bant’rin’ at a time like t’his! We hefta hit tha road! Make t’hat monster pay fer killin’ ma mam an’ da!”
John holds up his hand in a conciliatory fashion. “We’re not going anywhere until we’ve said our goodbyes to your parents. That’s gotta wait until tomorrow. Us marshals will be ready to leave right afterwards. You’ll be alright here healing, Sean.”
Sean’s face turns bright red and he points his finger in the general direction of John and Joey. “Ya cannae t’hink I’m goin’ let t’hat animal get way wit’ t’his. I’m comin’ ‘long!”
John and Joey look at each other, then Jake. John motions for them to follow him to the other room.
Jake looks down at Andy’s wide-eyed gaze. “Sorry, sweetheart. I’ve gotta go talk to them for a little bit.”
Tears well up in her eyes as she nods, then gets out of her father’s lap and climbs into Brigit’s.
Jake rises and goes to the foyer, where John indicated.